An Interview with Yink Teo
Yink is in his second year of undergraduate studies here at Duke University with a major in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is from Singapore and has one younger sister.
Why did you decide to study in the US?
I was kind of seduced by an education abroad – I was thinking only in the United States. A lot of my friends were going to the UK and Australia, but I didn’t want to go to Australia because the system can be slack and the UK system is very similar to the education system in Singapore, which I’ve had for the past 12 years of my life. I wanted a change, and a lot of people have praised the American system because of the credit process, where you can choose your classes. In the UK and Singaporean systems, your schedules are fixed and you don’t have a choice. So I wanted to experience that and be in a different culture, out of my comfort zone back home where my friends are. I wanted to change my environment, so that’s why I came to the US.
Why do you think there is such a big Singaporean presence at Duke?
Duke has a very good BME department, and a lot of Singaporeans are in that department. To be honest, I’d say more than half of Singaporeans are on some sort of government scholarship from the ministries or research companies, and in order to get a scholarship you have to do well on the A-levels and have a good track record back home, and Duke is a good school; it attracts the top talent.
What did your friends and family think when you told them you wanted to study in the States?
My parents were pretty shocked at first, because they wanted to know why I wanted to go abroad when I could study for cheap in Singapore. You get a good education in Singapore, and they also had this perception that those who don’t do as well go abroad to study, which isn’t true. They also hadn’t heard of a lot of US universities outside of Harvard and Stanford. So they said, “Duke? Where’s Duke? Where’s North Carolina?” and things like that. They were pretty reluctant, but I was set on what I wanted to do. I had already applied for my scholarship, gotten it, and that meant that I had to go abroad to study since it was a requirement. In the end, they let me pursue my dream.
Do most Singaporeans go abroad for college?
Yes and no. Yes, because the junior college I came from is pretty famous for feeding Ivy League schools in the US. Out of each class, I’d say about 60% goes abroad to study – the US, UK, Australia, and sometimes to China or France. But that’s because we’re one of the best schools, and if you look at other junior colleges, there’s nowhere near as high a study abroad percentage – maybe 5% of each class.
When you got here, what were some of the bigger cultural changes you had to get used to?
First off, language. I was very used to British English. And not just the words we use, but the way we speak. So I had to change that, or otherwise people wouldn’t understand me at all. There definitely were also differences interacting with people because of cultural differences. The yardstick Singaporeans (and it's probably an Asian thing) use to quantify things is very much different from Americans. For example, in Singapore, when someone asks you how good you are at soccer, or how well you did on the last math exam or how your day was, people typically say "It's okay" and seldom respond "good". Here in America, people rarely say "It's okay", you more commonly hear, "it's good" or "it's awesome". And really, the Singaporean "It's okay" means the same thing as the American "it's awesome". It's not so much that people in Singapore are more modest, it's more of a cultural thing. Another thing that I am still getting used to is the whole controversy over alcohol. I just find it strange that the alcohol issue is such a big thing especially since my parents have been encouraging me to drink since I was 13 to, in their words, prepare myself for the social situations of the future. I mean, I still find it astonishing that the legal age to fire a shotgun here in North Carolina is 12 whereas the legal age to shotgun a beer is 21. Oh and also, another huge cultural change is getting used to the lack of excitement over soccer here in America! They don't show the English Premiership games here that I used to watch week in week out in Singapore.
Do you think you’ve changed any in the last two years?
Definitely – I’d say that I’ve gotten a much bigger worldview, which was what drew me to an education abroad in the first place, because I felt that back home, if I stayed there my whole life, I’d have a very narrow view of the world. At Duke, there are so many people with great ambitions, and I find that people come from all over the world; I get to meet people from Italy, France, the United States – everywhere. It’s definitely broadened my worldview. Another thing is that, when I was in Singapore, I never really expressed my patriotism, even when I was doing my military service. But when I came to the US and started missing home and would read news about Singapore, I had this sense of pride. I feel that coming abroad has made me appreciate my home country a lot more. That’s something I definitely wouldn’t have realized had I stayed in Singapore my whole life, so I’m proud of that.
What was serving in the military like?
A lot of people have different views about it – some think it’s a waste of time, but I think it’s what you make of it. I had a really good experience because I went to officer’s school; I did three years of basic military training followed by officer’s school for nine months, and I commissioned as a lieutenant. After that, I actually worked in a bomb disposal squad where I had to command a platoon of men, which is nothing like what we’re doing in college now. It’s a very different experience, and it’s something that I can’t really relate to a lot of people here. You’re out there and tasked to organize a bomb sweep, which is a huge amount of responsibility when you’re just 19 or 20; it was a really big learning experience for me, especially about how to work with people. People in your platoon might be warrant officers or sergeants in their thirties or forties, yet they’re still under your command because of your rank. Lieutenants are of higher rank, so they have to listen to you. So I learned a lot about how to deal with people and how to handle responsibility – if things get messed up, you’re the one in charge and you have to take responsibility for that.
What do you miss most about Singapore?
I think the biggest thing I miss is the huge sense of security in Singapore. Unlike here in the US, in Singapore, it is safe to be a girl and walk around most places at 3am in the morning without much fear of getting robbed or assaulted. Singapore has really strict gun control laws. Basically, unlawfully possession of firearms can get you the death penalty. I also miss wakeboarding a lot. I am a huge wakeboarding addict but it seems like people here aren't into it much. I guess you'd have to go to places like Wilmington or Miami for there to be substantially more interest in the sport. Besides those, there are also random small things, like food, culture, language, music, summer weather all year round, this big weekly 80s party called mambo jambo and of course, Singaporean girls!
What are you involved with on campus?
I was more involved last year, because I worked with the Duke Motorsports Team. We basically build a car and take it to an annual race. I was also webmaster for International Association, and I’m in the Singaporean Student Association. That’s probably what I’m most active in, really. My involvement in college hasn’t been a lot; I would love to be more involved, but my scholarship has really stringent academic requirements. I have to maintain a GPA of 3.8 or I go on probation. It’s really intense – if you don’t do well in school, you can lose your scholarship. So there are a lot of things I’d like to do for fun, but this is my priority. It’s sort of like a job, because they’re paying me to go to college, and it’s my responsibility to study.
What do you think you’ll do after you graduate?
Oh, I actually know what I’ll be doing for the next ten years. I’m doing my undergraduate studies in three year, and after that I have to go back to Singapore for one year to work with one of the research institutes. Then, I’ll be coming to the States, probably, for five years to do my Ph.D. This is all planned and paid for by the company. After that, I’ll come home to work another five years for another research institute, as part of the scholarship agreement. Then I’ll be free and will decide from there. I can stay on if I really like it, or maybe go into teaching or something else.